In the aerial tramway industry, and particularly in connection with chairlifts, bench-type seat assemblies are widely employed. These seats have heretofore been formed by tubular frame members with metal sheets or panels secured to the frame members. Cushion material is mounted over the panels. Typically, both the seat and seat back are formed by mounting an aluminum panels over tubing and thereafter securing various types of cushioning material to the panels. In some instances fiberglass or other non-metallic panels are mounted to the tubing.
The chairlift seat cushions are secured to the seat assemblies in a variety of manners, including screw-type fasteners, rivets and even bungee-cord assemblies, which stretch the cushioning over the seat and seat back.
The construction of chairlift seat assemblies, accordingly, is somewhat tedious and costly. Moreover, the adverse weather conditions, high passenger use and passenger abuse of the seat assemblies cause the cushioning material to have to be replaced frequently. Still further, while the front side of the chairlift seat has a clean appearance, the back and underneath sides of prior art chairlift chairs, which are conventionally seen by skiers, often have a very cluttered and unappealing appearance with sharp and sometimes dangerous edges and fasteners.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chairlift seat assembly method for forming the same which overcomes the above-noted deficiencies in prior art seat assemblies.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a chairlift seating assembly which is durable, is high in strength, has cushion material which is easily attached and has a desirable appearance from all sides.